Bronwyn Mongta awarded for community leadership

Bronwyn Mongta was surprised to find out she had won one of three State Government bursaries for her contributions in community leadership, but if you look at the long list of her achievements to date it's easy to see why she was named as a 2013 Ricci Marks Award recipient.

Bronwyn is now set to meet with the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Jeanette Powell, to discuss what to do with her $5000 bursary.

She says she was surprised to hear that she won the award.

"It was a bit of a spin out, at first I was in shock. I'm kind of still getting my head around it," she adds.

The award is named in honour of Ricci Marks, a recipient of the year 2000 Aboriginal Young Achiever Award, and recognises achievements of young Aboriginal people in their chosen field.

Bronwyn says the award has helped her to reflect on where she has come from and what she has achieved so far.

"When I read my application and read some of the stuff that was written about me, from where I have begun in my career and where I am now, it's really reminded me of how far I have come," she says.

Bronwyn grew up in Cann River in far East Gippsland.

"I always knew I'd get outside of Cann River but there is a big part of me where I love going home because I've got so many memories there and it's so comfortable. I'm happy to have Cann River as my home," she says.

Bronwyn describes herself as a Monaro woman from her grandfather's side of the family, and she also identifies with the Yuin from her grandmother's side of the family.

She mentions her grandfather as one of her inspirations because she says he had a hard time growing up and she has learned from his stories.

"In this generation we do come across challenges but they'll never be as hard as the challenges our grandparents went through," she says.

Bronwyn's commitment to voicing the concerns of her generation has motivated her work with the state wide Koorie Youth Council and led her to create and facilitate the East Gippsland Koorie Youth Council which started meeting in April this year.

"There are a lot of things that go on in our community which we don't have a say in and I think it's really important to come together and voice our opinions," she says.

She says she wants to see more of the opportunities offered to Indigenous youth in Melbourne, brought out to the smaller communities of East Gippsland.

"I think it's really important that we connect the dots with these young people in small communities and give them the opportunity," she says.

In 2011 Bronwyn was crowned Miss NAIDOC and spoke in public about what NAIDOC meant to her.

"I think that was the first time for me when I really stepped out of my comfort zone and spoke in front of the community but it was a really good chance to express myself," she says.

Last year Bronwyn was accepted into the East Gippsland Aboriginal Journeys Program to walk the Kokoda track, she describes it as one of the best experiences of her life.

"It really got my priorities right," she says.

Bronwyn is now working in a traineeship for the Department of Justice.